Taken
by oxCHEERxo
Summary: I was just a kit in a world I didn't understand. I lived alone,  trapped in a nightmare any sane cat would shove to the back of their mind. I needed to be saved,    But nobody came for me
1. Prologue

Yowls suddenly filled the night air and echoed through the Riverclan camp as the rogues came flooding in. Nightwhisker stood in front of the nursery, ready to take on any cat that tried to harm his mate and only kit. A few moons ago he probably would've hid. He probably would've fought a younger warrior while the others handled the nursery, But something over the pass few hours had changed. He wasn't the same cat. He didn't care about his escape. The only thing he wanted was to see that his mate and kit were both safe. He realized, with a shudder that he could die, but he pushed that thought aside. The only thing that mattered now was his family.

One cat, a dusty brown tabby charged towards him. He dodged quickly and reared up on the rogue, with a swipe to the side the cat was thrown off balance. As Nightwhisker prepared to drag his claws across the other cat's muzzle he collapsed by the sudden weight on his back. A she-cat began biting into his neck. The other, smiled and took this as a chance to get up and flee. Nightwhisker began clawing at the rogue's underbelly, forcing her to get off. He jumped to his feet quickly and smashed into the other cats shoulder, while also landing a deep gash on it's leg. The she-cat yowled in pain and hobbled away, keeping off of her hurt leg.

Nightwhisker had no time to dodge as another tabby leaped forward at him, His paws extended in front of him.

_SLASH!_

_A sudden cold sting in his left cheek forced him backwards. Nightwhisker staggered in confusion and shock, eyes wide. The whole side of his muzzle felt hot and wet. He reached up to touch his face but pulled his paw back quickly. The pain was unbearable. He realized with a start that it wasn't just a simple cut. The skin on his face had been completely slashed off! All the skin from the top of his head to his mouth was gone. The rogue let out a loud cackle. Surprisingly, A gleam from the cat's paw shone in the moonlight. His claws were unsheathed. Nightwhisker noticed yet remained unresponsive, even as the rouge dug his claws into his neck and pushed him to the ground. The smell of death hung heavily in the air as the cat dug his claws deeper and deeper.. Nightwhisker took one last shaky breath, it was cut short and the rogue knew that the smaller cat had died._

_The rogue smiled and vanished into the nursery. For the past few seconds, blood hurdling screams could be heard. They were cut off abruptly. He returned, holding his prize, a small black and white kit, and disappeared into the night, shrieks of pain and yowls of victory filling the air before the darkness completely engulfed him._


	2. Chapter One  The New Recruit

I wake up in an uncomfortable position. Yawning, I realize that some cat is holding me by my scruff. What happened? Where was I? The night air is so crisp and cold it could have been Leaf-Bare. I glance around with flickering eyes in search of something out of the ordinary, but it's too dark.

"Ah, I see you're awake." The cat holding me mumbles, speaking slowly so he wont drop me, the scent of blood is heavy on his breath. I shudder and flick my tail fiercely.

"Who are you? Where's my mother?" I ask, shivering slightly, "I wanna go home!" Instead of answering right away he chuckles,

"It's alright, little one. I'll take you back to _camp_" He replies in a calm and kind voice. His speech is jumbled, and I don't like the way he says "camp", like he's being sarcastic. I look up to see that only thin beams of light shine down from between the trees, I relax and watch the sky absentmindedly. I soon doze off to the sound of rustling leaves and I'm jolted awake when he tries to make small talk. It's sunrise now.

"So, how old are you?" he asks in a light-hearted manner. And before I can even answer he continues. He tells me about his life as a kit. _Doesn't it occur to him that I don't care?_ He rambles on and on. I'm about to snap at him when he suddenly stops, "Ah, we're almost at the camp.." I nearly sigh in relief, but I manage to keep quiet as he sets me down. "Just keep going straight. You'll meet a dark gray she-cat. She'll answer your questions." He meows. I ask him what he means, and where he's going.

"Have fun." He mutters in a sarcastic voice before walking away, the piece of fox-dung. I stumble around for awhile in a stupor, this "forest" is just a unremarkable heap of dirt with a few trees. I finally come across a small den, and glance inside. The glittering eyes of a cat flash through the darkness and my fur bristles.

"Oh! You must be the new recruit!" The she-cat exclaims, "I'm Sliver. We're going to have tons of fun." _New Recruit? I never wanted to join any clan, I just want to go home. _Before I can get a word in she continues. "Our leader, Gold has set up a den for you to sleep in." I stare in confusion. _Gold? What kind of a name was that! And I get my own den? _"I'm sure you're anxious to see your new home." Then she leads me to my den. It looked alright. It was about the size of the nursery, maybe a bit smaller.

"This is nice and all but who is Gold? And where are the others?" I ask. She smiles and replies in a tone that confuses me,

"Oh you'll meet them soon enough." Then she walks away. I sigh and wander inside. The den is empty except for a small bed of moss. So that's it? She just drops me off here and leaves? What am I supposed to do? I make my way back to her den but before I can get there a light brown tom's crawling all over me like a colony of ants.

"So, how do you like your new home? I spent the past few days building it. All for you, Mousekit. By the way, I'm Gold." He greets me. _How does he know my name?_ "How old are you? 4 moons, 6 moons?"

"I-I'm 3 moons old." I answer, stuttering. He nods and continues, "Ah, I see. It's a bit early but I'm going to make you an apprentice." This shocks me.

"What? No Ceremony? No Mentor?" I ask in bewilderment, he ignores me,

"You will now be known as Mousepaw. You're only 3 moons but I'm thinking that it will help you get used to things." I shake my head. I'm just going to come clean, I never wanted to come to this camp, and I was way too young to train. I tell Gold but he doesn't care. "I also want you to get to know your clanmates. I know something that will help." He reveals a dead rabbit "Princess, one of your new clanmates, hurt her leg and I promised I'd bring her some food. But I'm a bit tired. Would you do it for me?" He meows in a tone that implies it wasn't a question but a command. I can't even answer. He just hands me the rabbit and shoves me forward. That tom plays for keeps. Within seconds I'm walking around carrying a rabbit that's almost the same size as me. There's no paths or trails to walk on, and all of these scents are unfamiliar. How was I supposed to find Princess? I'm about to give up when I stumble across a den. I peer inside and I'm greeted by a gray tom. There's something wrong with this cat, some kind of glandular problem.

"Oh! You must be the new recruit." he says. I flick my tail in annoyance,

"I'm not-" he cuts me off. _Won't anyone in this messed up camp let me finish a sentence? _

"My name is Benji. Maybe later we can go fishing, hm?" I curse under my breath for not being able to find a single normal warrior, but nod. "Thanks for stopping by to see me. I know you're probably busy. Isn't there a job you should be doing? Princess is waiting." My fur is fluffed up and my eyes are wide in shock. _How did he know? _This is where the panic starts to set in.

There's something seriously wrong with this camp.


	3. Chapter 2  Meeting my Clanmates

I spent the past hour wondering around this "camp." I had come to realize this wasn't even a clan. They lived like disgusting rogues in their own dens, which were scattered aimlessly across the forest. Occasionally, I'd see one of my "clanmates" roaming around, but they typically just stayed in their homes. By the time I found Princess the rabbit was stiff and cold. She seem displeased, but still smiled.

"Ah, thank you, Darling. I'm famished." She mews. I'm about to leave when she interrupts me. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me. I'm Princess." I turn around to face the she-cat. She's beautiful but there's something off about her, along with everyone else around here.

"I'm Mousepaw." I meow nervously.

"Ah, Wonderful!" She replies, "I can already tell that we'll be great friends, Darling. Maybe you can visit later?" There's a hint of recital in her voice, as though she's said this many times before. It sends a chill down my spine. Were there others who had been kidnapped before me? And if so, where were they now? I give the slightest of nods and leave.

As I'm walking, I meet another cat. A skinny Tom named Digger. I can't help but wonder what he had fallen victim to. His left ear is missing, and he had a scar that stretched from the base of his tail to his shoulder. Princess's leg is broken. Boulder is missing an eye and Silver only has half a tail. The more I thought about it, The more I began to worry. If they were rogues then that meant there were no clans for them to fight, these cats seemed so close and treated each other with respect. If they never fought then how had this happened to them? Who did this? I decide to ask Tawny, one of the oldest she-cats that lives near my den. That was one of my first mistakes.

"Tawny, If you don't mind my asking, How did you get those wounds? And where did everyone one else get them?" Her eyes widen slightly then she lifts her paw. Next thing I know I'm staggering backwards in pain. There was a stinging sensation on the side of my face and I realized that Tawny had just scratched me.

"Curiosity, Young Mousepaw, will get you no where." She mews, her voice cold, and then she walks away as if nothing had happened. I hurry to catch up with her,

"But, Tawny-" She cuts me off

"Leave me alone, kit! Haven't you learned to respect your elders?" I should have know better by now. Tawny's made a scene and others are starting to notice. Out of the corner of my eye I see the Gold gesturing to me with his tail as Tawny hurries away. Hesitantly I meet him.

"Yes, Gold?" I practically squeaked. He fixes me with a glare. A glare with such intensity it sends a shiver down my spine. What did I do wrong?"Don't think you can misbehave just because I'm not watching." He meows, "Every one of our apprentices are to respect our elders. The same rule goes for you." His mood suddenly shifts, as if he had forgotten everything that had happened during the past minute. He smiles kindly at me "Now run along, young one."

"Ok." I murmur over my shoulder as I hurry back to my den. I pause at the entrance of my den, paws frozen in place.

"_Every one of our apprentices are to respect our elders. The same rule goes for you." _Every one of our apprentices? Why had he said that? There's clearly no other apprentices around here. Was he talking in past tense?.. I thought back to earlier when I met Princess and how she spoke as if she were acting, or if she had repeated her speech many times. There had to be other kits that were kidnapped, But where were they?… Are they dead?… Or maybe.. They escaped? If those kits had escaped then maybe I could, And I could go home! For the first time today I smiled. I actually smiled. It wasn't fake or forced like the others. It was real. I knew I needed a plan. These cats kidnapped me, they wouldn't just let me go. And I couldn't just walk through the gate, I'd stick out like a broken claw. I had to find another entrance if I were to escape. That wouldn't be too hard, as long as I kept quiet. My smile grew wider. I'm so close… I actually had a chance.

The early morning chill I had felt when I first arrived here earlier had been replaced by a comfortable evening breeze. I couldn't sleep that night. I was too excited. If I did this correctly, then I could go home. I'd never have to speak to Gold or any of the others again. They mostly spoke kind words and did nothing to hurt me, but something- A voice inside of me said that I couldn't trust them, and I didn't.

In the sobering light of morning, my thought was that I would have to find an exit and then I would have to come up with a plan to escape, but until then I should lie low, not make a scene. I'm starving but there's no fresh kill pile. And I couldn't learn to hunt without a mentor.

_Fox-Dung!_

I couldn't leave. I didn't know how long the trip was and I have no idea where to go. I would need to eat for energy, and if I got lost then I'd need to hunt.

So, I couldn't leave today. It would probably take me a while to learn. Just my luck.


End file.
